Seaside Learning Center was 10 years in the making

DANA POINT – As the glass gate opened to the brand new maritime pier and 300-foot-long dock along Dana Point Harbor's Ocean Institute, hundreds of children flocked to the capstan, pushing the wood wheel around and around. They darted into the biological diversity lab, touching starfish and sea slugs in the correct "two-finger" style. They boarded the 118-foot tall ship Spirit of Dana Point and pretended to sail away.

"When we got to look at this amazing facility earlier this month, we were just in shock of all that had been accomplished," said Collie James, co-founder of the Maddie James Foundation, which raised more than $1 million in funding for the center. "There was just one thing I thought was missing; the children."

On Saturday, the children came.

Ten years in the works, the $4 million project handled its first wave of visitors effortlessly when about 1,000 guests attended the grand opening and ribbon-cutting celebration of the Maddie James Seaside Learning Center.

The center replaces the Ocean Institute's original landing dock built in 1972. The plan dock was supposed to be replaced in 2002 when then institute's facility was completed, but budget constraints and stricter marine building regulations postponed the project.

Over the years, the plans for the dock grew from a replacement project into a multiple-stationed learning center, marine research hub and historic maritime pier.

"All of these things came together, and we sketched out the plan in 2005, and started raising funds from there," said Ocean Institute president Dan Stetson. In 2007, the funding effort got a jolt with $1 million grant from the California Coastal Conservancy, but the economic downturn in late 2008 stalled the project.

"We put it on the shelf for a couple of years, weathered the storm," Stetson said.

Then in 2011, with about $1 million still needed in funding, Stetson was introduced to a 5-year-old girl named Maddie James, and her mother, Kajsa James. Maddie had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor, and wanted to enjoy some time at the Ocean Institute – her favorite place. "We put together a program for Maddie, so she could enjoy the touch tanks and the things she loved," Stetson said.

Halfway through the tour, Kajsa James told Stetson she was going to raise $1 million for the center.

Soon after, Kajsa and Maddie's father, Collie, founded the Maddie James Foundation. Within three months, they had reached their goal.

"I thought she was crazy, but she did it," Stetson said.

One of the main fundraisers for the foundation is the annual A Mile for Maddie walk, which starts at Strand Vista Park. Participants walk the 1.2-mile trail down to the Ocean Institute. This year's walk was held just prior to the opening of the Seaside Learning Center and raised an additional $108,000 that will continue funding the facility.

"Every person who raised even $1 is a winner today," Collie James told the 787 walkers who registered for the event. "All of the kids are going to be able to enjoy the Seaside Learning Center because of every single person's efforts that went into it."

With the center reaching completion, Kajsa James – who had been on site for every pile driven and every dock float poured – began wondering what would come next. The Ocean Institute answered that question, hiring her on as the new vice president of development.

"We put a woman who raised $1 million in charge of our fundraising – hold on to your wallets," joked Bill Steel, former chair of the institute's board of directors.

"The ending of this project was a bit scary for me," Kajsa said. "I knew the kids would finally be able to come enjoy it, but I didn't know what I would do after. It was scary without Maddie, but now I can continue working here, with a purpose."